Just when you think you've seen all that TD games the iOS has to offer, this game has to come along and put some Pow in the Caf Pow (sorry for the NCIS reference if you aren't a fan). AutoRobot TD has gameplay that's not unlike other Tower Defense games: you have entrances, paths, exits and areas along the paths where you can set up defense towers. Where AutoRobot TD stands out is the non-stop action in two modes of gameplay and 4 difficulty levels plus a duel player mode, and the in-your-face bright and vibrant colors and robot design. Once you launch the game you won't be able to get your eyes off it!

Gameplay

Tower Defense games tend to have lots of levels, AutoRobot TD is no exception. But what is exceptional in this game is that you get throw into the action fast and furious. You start out in the arcade mode where you unlock the next level after you beat each of the 50 levels. Once you?ve beaten the levels in Arcade mode, you get to play them in Endless mode where you play as long as you can last. Each level has four difficulty settings ranging from easy to nightmare. If you have a friend who?s also a TD fan, you can play the 2-player mode together via either Bluetooth or WiFi to defend and share the loot.

The paths in AutoRobot TD are set paths with some levels having one or two entrances and exits while others have ton of them you have to defend. Level layouts are varied which is essential to a successful TD game, and you get only a selection of the 9 weapons offered in the game. This presents an awesome challenge: you must learn which weapons are more effective against which enemies and make your selections carefully, especially in those levels with limited tower building space.

All nine weapons have 6 levels and you must upgrade them as you go deep into a level to fend off the onslaught of enemies. Weapons vary also and have techno/sci-fi overtone in design. These weapons have different power, range and effectiveness against different enemy robot units, like Plasma gun is very precise, BlastWave is speedy and Nuke, well the Nuke towers will hit anyone in their range hard. There are also frost towers that slow down enemy units, which is more effective in fast moving levels than other towers; Sonic Gun paralyzes robots while you use Plasma blasting the robots away where they stand.

One of the main reasons you want to upgrade your towers as soon as you have enough money is the fast moving robots in great numbers in almost every levels. The game didn?t mean to have you play it half heartedly paying partial attention to what you are doing. Oh, no. You?ve got to pay full attention to the game or these fast robots will hit your defense in a blink of an eye. There is a large variety of enemy robots, some move very slowly but take lots of damage; others rush to the exits like there is no tomorrow. They come in different shapes and colors, but many oversized in the way that looks unreal and very threatening. To top it off, there usually is a boss at the end of each level. Now those upgraded towers will come in handy indeed.

Controls in AutoRobot TD are smooth and easy to use. All it takes to build a tower is dragging it from your inventory to where you want it, and upgrading it by tapping on a tower and following the options. While the controls are smooth, the game slows down when lots of enemies appearing on the screens with lots of towers firing at them.

Graphics & Sound

Graphics in AutoRobot TD are gorgeous. The enemy robots have a cartoonish wonderfully over sharpened look with bright colors. The unit designers weren?t shy about giving the robots bigger sizes either, they look huge against the background yet that works great for the game in creating a bold and frenzy environment as these oversized robots fill up the screen. The enemy swarming animations are also very well done, and so are the tower firing animations.

Music however is surprisingly uninspiring in a game that?s nothing but bold and fearless. Music tracks are at a decent pace but feel repetitive. Inside the gameplay though you mostly just hear the sound FX that your tower weapons make which are the usually blasting and exploding types of sounds. There are volume controls for both BGM and the sound FX, but there isn?t an in-game iPod music play option.

Conclusion

AutoRobot TD ? Defend and Defeat is a must play game if you are Tower Defense player. It makes bold statements with beautiful graphics and deep hectic gameplay to back them up. You will love playing in both Arcade mode and in Endless mode. There is a lot of aspects of the gameplay to check out including different difficulty levels and two player mode, but the game doesn?t offer free map gameplay.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: - 5 - TD game never looked so good and so futuristic.Sound: - 3.5 - Music is repetitive, sound FX is good but no obvious arrangements.Controls: - 5 - Easy to use, very intuitive and super smooth. Gameplay: - 4.5 - Gameplay is very beefy, levels don?t feel repetitive or boring. It needs a some free play levels though, and hopefully we will see them in future updates.

Playing Hints and Tips:

-Try every tower in the early stages to understand their power and speed. You will need that knowledge for the upcoming levels, and you need it fast.

- Upgraded towers gain not only power but range also. So some times it?s better to upgrade exiting towers first before adding new ones.

- You get higher medals if your exits are hit, and if your exits are undamaged when you play in the two most difficult levels, you get the coveted diamond badge.